


a smaller world

by iwalkincircles



Category: Justice League - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Almost Pro Hero Midoriya Izuku, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Bruce Wayne is tired, Crossover, Discrimination, Discrimination against the Quirkless, Future Fic, Gen, Izuku keeps beating up heroes, Izuku wants to mind his own business for once, Vigilantism, but also heroes, but close enough, but only by a couple of years, but random villains keep getting in the way, not technically vigilantism, villains too, why does he keep finding terrifying teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-17
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-11 17:39:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15320724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwalkincircles/pseuds/iwalkincircles
Summary: "Who would win in a fight, All Might or Superman?" has been a question asked by many an individual, none of whom have ever met Midoriya Izuku.Or: Midoriya Izuku accidentally meets the Justice League. Circumstances are less than auspicious.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know that BNHA is set in the non-specific far-off future, but do I care about timelines? The answer's a strong no. Also this chapter’s a lot of exposition so bear with me here. This became something a lot different from my original idea so this may not be structured super well.

**Now, July 20th : Location - Watchtower, Justice League HQ**

Izuku didn't mean for this to happen. Now, anyone who knew Izuku would be quick to turn the tables; there's only so many times a friend can say "I guess you didn't mean to break all the bones in your arm???" before admitting that either:

  1. Midoriya really did mean to repeatedly break all of those bones, or

  2. Sweet, adorable, somewhat terrifyingly determined Midoriya doesn't think before doing things that will eventually in grievious bodily harm 




and really, it's pretty apparent which one gives his loved ones the most peace of mind.

In response Midoriya would (as both a good friend who would rather not worry anyone, and a young adult who used to be a middle schooler with a deeply low sense of self-esteem) attempt at reassurance, “no, no, no guys/A-a-a-All Might/mom I'm fine. I didn't mean to get hurt, it was just an accident. Recovery Girl fixed me up,” but really most of the people in Izuku's life just accepted the eventuality that he would be hurt and instead would try to impress upon the idea that  _maybe you could try to hurt yourself a little less next time? Just a thought._

Still though, Izuku's never done this sort of thing before. So at least there's no precedent for his friends to get upset? Perfect logic. They can't be upset if they've never asked him to not cause an international incident before right??

Izuku thunked his forehead on the solid metal table, groaned as he made a dent, and just let it sit there on the cool surface. His hands were in cuffs and his legs were tied to the legs of the chair he was sitting in.

A tall man was looming in front of him. Anyone alive would have recognized the costume: striking blues and reds with a stylized S on the chest.

“Remind me, what’s your role in all of this? Kidnapping, arson, murder - what do you have to say for yourself.”

_How does he get himself into these situations, seriously._

**

**myfavedenimmess** reblogged **number1-allmightfan**   

\--

**supermanisthebestoutthere** :

TIL that Superman has been offered the key to Metropolis 16 times. Instead of accepting, each time he asks for the proceeds of the prospective key gifting ceremony to be donated to Metropolis Children's Hospital 

via: reddit.com

when will your fave ever????

\--

**supes.jleague752**

but does this even come as a surprise guys. forget the gotham vigilante that keeps trying to put the clearly mentally ill criminals he fights into an uncompromising broken justice system that only serves to lock them up!!!!!! the fuck do i know about broody mcnight (please don't erase me as I type this out) but only fake geek boys think supes isn't the best hero out there. everyone from the flash to green lantern to the one batsona to rule them all agrees  (Vicky Vale, 2015 Interview) and when even bratman known for his ridiculous hatred of metas puts his stamp of approval you know you've got a little somethin' somethin' there. and ofc the only heroes worth talking about're the ones in america. no other country has heroes that match up to the sheer physical power here

just gotta accept that supes is the best damn hero out there 

\--

**number1-allmightfan**

You: superman's the best hero out there  
Me, an intellectual: All Might could punch me in the face and I'd ask him to do it again!!!!

*cracks knuckles* this is my time. my years of being an All Might fan are finally going to meansomething. i respect people who like superman, but All Might is the best hero, no question. his sheer impact on our (All Might's based in Japan if you didn't know) culture and crime rate as the SYMBOL OF PEACE counts him as the superhero most influential on any scale: heroics-wise, media/social media, anyone who's anyone knows All Might and his presence alone has been the foundation of an era in japanese heroics! (also batman is very clearly doing his best let him rest)

now anyone who follows me knows i ramble on and on about All Might, but here's some of my ramblings on All Might organized, because clearly some people need it

Read More

\--

#howdareyou #allmightisbestmight #supermanwisheshecould #noshame #ifnumber1-allmightfan #hadntjustmurderedyou #iwouldvedoneitmyself #leaveyouramericancentricbullshitoutofthis #mygoalinlifeistobeallmightssidekick #mightygirl #thatsme #mywildestdreams #mysweetsweetdreams 

**132,397 notes**

**

**Three Months Ago, April 15th : Location - U.A. High School, Musutafu Japan**

“Denki ya better hope Aizawa doesn't catch you goofing off right now.” 

“No way. Over the past three years I've carefully honed my Aizawa-sensei radar. There's no way he could surprise me.”

“Ooh, didn't know you knew a fancy word like 'honed,' hitting the dictionary aren’tcha.”

“Hey rude! Anyway, I've been dying - this last set of exams has been literally eating me alive. Let me de-stress Mina.”

“If by 'dying' you mean procrastinating on studying until the last minute then sure Denki, I've been dying too. We've all been dying. Hey, at least we can be in the doghouse together. I was practicing my breakdancing this weekend instead of reading up on the history of public quirk use restriction and I'm so dead if Aizawa-sensei finds out.”

_Mmhmmm_ , as a throat was cleared.

“Your situational awareness is pathetic, both of you. How long do you think I've been standing right behind you?”

“GAAAH,” Kaminari and Ashido flinched as Aizawa Shouta, aka Eraserhead, aka the bane of a slacker's existence, made his presence known behind them. 

“Sensei why do you have to do that?” Kaminari whined. “We're already stressed out enough as it is.”

“Yeah Sensei, besides at least we don't sleep all the time unlike…” Mina trailed off at the squinting glare Aizawa gave the beginning of her sentence, instead deciding to sit down quietly. With this conversation the rest of the room had the time to quiet down, all the other students sitting up straight in their seats. 

“Now, a quick note before your exam,” Class 3a's homeroom teacher began. “You’re all third years. Over these past years you’ve been honing your physical and mental abilities in order to become the best class of future heroes. You’ve stretched the limits of your quirks, interned with established heroes, dealt with life and death situations.”

Aizawa stopped for a quick second to glare at Izuku, mostly blaming the problem child of his class for the truly abnormal number of villains this particular class had encountered since their enrollment in U.A. Izuku only shrugged back; there’s only so many times you can be personally targeted by villains before you stop giving a single fuck about how or why it happens and just go with it. 

_And let’s be honest here, I’ve never been the most cautious kid. I used to golooking for villain fights back when I was just quirkless Deku. Aizawa-sensei should be grateful he didn’t meet me as a middle schooler._

Izuku turned to hear the rest of the lecture.

“But there’s something else you brats have to deal with before you can consider yourselves successful U.A. graduates.” He paused for a minute, leaving the entire class hanging on his words.

“Oi, get the fuck on with it.” Bakugou Katsuki, the most impatient and foul-mouthed kid in the whole of Tokyo Prefecture, spat out. “We all know you like to build up dramatic tension but this is fucking ridiculous.”

_Any normal teacher would have given you detention just for that_. Aizawa nearly groaned, reminding himself for the thousandth time that he does actually enjoy teaching before continuing on. 

“U.A. doesn’t have a reputation for putting out heroes that only know how to beat up villains, but a reputation for putting out the best all-rounder heroes. And while we’ve worked mostly on the former it’s time for you to show you have skills outside of punching.”

“Huh??” Kirishima asked. “What do you mean? We’ve learned a lot of not-punchy stuff at our internships. For example Fatgum taught me first year that-”. Kirishima’s voice deadened as a piece of cellophane suddenly stuck to his face. 

Still, Kirishima continued to mumble even with Sero’s tape covering his mouth. Aizawa only sighed, knowing that any remark of his would go unheeded. _I like teaching. I enjoy teaching students. I’m good at teaching students._

“Hanta. Don’t use your quirk against your classmates.”

“But sensei I was only helping keep classroom order,” Sero snickered, mouth opening to a wide toothy grin, undermining his own point. 

“No.” Aizawa repeated. “And Kirishima, you’ll understand what I mean once I’ve finished. You said that you’ve done ’not-punchy stuff’ at your internships, but have you truly served those in your community that need it the most? What do you think is the difference between being a hero that patrols and fights villains and being a hero that saves everyone?”

  _And now I’ve lost the entire class_. Aizawa thought, looking around and seeing blank looks of confusion on his student’s faces.  

“I think what sensei means,” Yaoyorozu spoke up, “Is that so far it hasn’t been our impetus to act in service of our communities, i.e. such opportunities have been handed to us, and that as future heroes we must be cognizant not only of urban communities that often draw heroes but also to communities that don’t as easily receive help from heroes. For example, did you know recent statistics have shown that both women and people with mutant quirks, not to mention women with mutant quirks, are less likely to be helped by heroes? That when a person with a mutant quirk is attacked by someone with an emitter quirk heroes often wrongly arrest the victim and not the criminal?” 

Silence as the rest of the class digested her words, and then. 

“Bravo Yaoyorozu!” Iida exclaimed, standing up and bowing in her direction. “It truly was the right decision to elect you as president for this year. Not only have you summarized Aizawa-Sensei perfectly, but you have elaborated and expanded, adding your own insight on problems that I have not thought to address over my course as a U.A. student. Thank you for highlighting this flaw in my training.” 

His words were accompanied by his characteristic series of chops, coming an inch or so away from smacking Uraraka in the face. 

Yaoyorozu blushed with embarrassment but accepted the praise, lightly touching shoulders with Iida to thank him as the rest of the class nodded in agreement. 

“Exactly,” Aizawa remarked blandly, eyes still looking half-dead.  “By the end of next month I want a six-page, and yes Midoriya that means **six pages only** , proposal on your service project, the specific community it benefits, and why what you are proposing is novel. Your class representative did summarize it perfectly. Take note everyone, this is why she’s one of my favorite students. 

“Hey!” the rest of the class nearly yelled, Tokoyami and Aoyama surprisingly enough looking the most upset.

“Wait, who are your other favorites then?” Koda asked out of the blue, the uncharacteristic sound startling Todoroki out of his half-asleep state. 

“Yeah inquiring minds want to know,” Jiro continued, bursting a piece of gum in her mouth and twirling one of her earphone jacks around her fingers. 

Sensing a class-wide outburst outburst, Aizawa quickly changed the subject.

“And with that, put all of your books away. It’s time for your history exam. I hope you didn't forget a pen or pencil. I won’t be giving you any even if you beg.”

He turned quickly to look at Uraraka’s large eyes with a piercing stare. “Yes, even you.” 

“You say that sensei, but then you always give us pencils anyway. Ribbit.” Tsuyu croaked. 

Izuku grinned, only stopping when Aizawa handed Izuku his exam.

\--

Name: 

Pick one of the three prompts to write an essay demonstrating your knowledge of the legality of public quirk use.

1\. You are a solo hero with a stealth quirk infiltrating a known criminal organization. You are working in conjunction with the police who have advised you to make as little a fuss as possible in order to ingratiate yourself with your targets. One of your jobs involves extorting money from a civilian with your quirk. How do you approach the situation to maintain your cover? Under what situations would use of your quirk on a civilian be legal? Does this differ if you are working undercover with the police? If so, how? Be precise and provide examples of similar cases.

2\. You are a sidekick of a well-known hero with authorization to use your quirk in the field. While patrolling on your own, you see a villain cornering an adult and two children. The villain attempts to use his quirk (a transformation strengthening type), but the adult uses hers (an emitter wind-producing type) first. Under what situations is quirk-mediated self-defense against villains legal? Is this one of those situations? If not, what would make it so? Mention current events with a particular focus on recently-passed quirk legislation. 

3\. You are the principal of a middle school. You have called in two students for fighting within school grounds. One has a strength-enhancing quirk while the other has a water manipulation quirk. It is unclear whether either student has used their quirks. How would you assess whether quirks were used in the fight? Under what conditions would use of either student’s quirk be permissible under the law? What measures would be required, either punitive or rehabilitative, as a consequence? Provide citations on underage public quirk use.

\--

Izuku avoided looking at the last prompt. Replace ‘strength-enhancing quirk’ with ‘no quirk’ and ‘water manipulation quirk’ with ‘nitroglycerin-mediated explosion quirk’ and that prompt perfectly described his middle school years. 

_About that service project. I wonder if-_

**

**Youtube**            Search:  _________________________     Sign In

[Thumbnail Description: Neon green with the words GreenHeroKid in white Comic Sans]  
Compilation - Best Vines of GreenHeroKid

2,349,901 views                440,283 likes 3,229 dislikes     Add to      Share     

**[NotThe]ActualGreenHeroKid  
** Published on April 22, 2016         Subscribe: 1.1M

Like many of us I looooooveeeeeee GreenHeroKid and when Vine shut down I tried to get as many of his vines as possible. 

16,779 Comments      Sort By

**jkAAl** 1 month ago

OMG GUYS, we all know GreenHeroKid is the one that kept breaking his bones at UA's sports festival a couple years back, but I met him the other day and he’s literally the sweetest kid I’ve ever met. saw him at the grocery store and he spent the whole time complimenting my transformation quirk and started crying when i asked for his autograph. i’ve been blessed??

244 likes 12 dislikes

**View all 47 replies v**

**WhyisVineDead** 13 days ago

The one where he sees PresentMic without hair gel and falls down the stairs. #relateablecontent

67 likes 4 dislikes 

**Hide replies ^**

          **ButtIngeniumTho**  2 days ago

         You mean the one where he hits a villain so hard her gold tooth gets stuck in the wall of the bakery right behind him and his face pales.

         12 likes 8 dislikes Reply

         **EndeavorSuckxxz** 18 hours ago

         The one where he draws on a cardboard cutout of Endeavor, the camera pans and Endeavor's fucking kid just gives a thumbs up.

         5 likes 1 dislike Reply             

**IzuChan-luvr**  5 hours ago

OMG Izuku is soo cuteee. Izu-chan... only better with blood. Aah I'm so happy thinking about it. :) *drooling*

5 likes 17762 dislikes

**View all 1438 replies v**

**

**Two Months Ago, May 23rd - May 25th : Locations - Multiple, Musutafu Japan**

Fifty years ago Ando et. al. published a research article in Nature Genetics. The paper was overly long and 75% jargon as is the norm for university-level science, but the findings could be distilled down to a couple of sentences.  

“There are three types of quirk categories, broadly: emiter, transformation, mutant. A child's gene profile can be used to predict which of these three quirk types they will present with.” 

While that was significant, pushing forward the field of quirk profiling and genetic counseling, it was also the first paper to state an often-quoted statistic derived from government survey data the year prior: “80% of the population in Japan is born with a quirk.” 

Now as any good statistician could tell you, data from 50 years ago, particularly on population demographics, cannot be applied to current times. And so the believed statistic, 20% of Japan is quirkless, was woefully inaccurate. In reality, the number was closer to 2%, many of whom were older individuals. Quirkless people in Japan were an endangered population, reducing in number every year. 

What this meant was that the quirkless had little protection by the law: while quirk-based discrimination was illegal, discrimination based on not having a quirk wasn’t. As such, the quirkless faced huge amounts of social and financial obstacles in their daily lives. And similar to what Momo had said, heroes weren’t as quick to stop villains in majority-quirkless neighborhoods.

So Izuku thought, _what could I do to make sure no one goes through what I did? It’s not as though all quirkless kids in Japan have All Might to help them along. So what could I do?_

Midoriya kept that thought in his head as he walked down to the common lounge. He, along with most of Class 3A had continued living in the dorms past their first year. While he had thought it would be difficult to convince his mom, she had quietly allowed him to board at U.A. his first year and continued to support him despite her personal disapproval.

_Sometimes, I think mom’s the strongest person I know_. 

The lounge was mostly empty; the only ones there were Uraraka and Todoroki, both of whom couldn’t go home though for very different reasons. While Shouto had increased his range of expressions over the years, the deadpan look on his face brought Izuku back to their first year. Shouto was just staring, watching Ochako flail her hands in increasingly large movements as she tried to explain something to him.

“Noooo IcyHot, that's why you have to act quickly. That way he won't have the time to plan anything out and so you’ll have surprise on your side.”

“Is… is this a situation where I need surprise?? Are you sure you’re the person I should be asking about this?” Todoroki said as he looked increasingly perplexed.

“Hey guys!” both Ochako and Shouto jumped as Izuku made himself known. “What’re you talking about?” 

“Ha, ha nothing Deku. What are you doing here? I thought you’d be home for the weekend.”

Izuku turned to Uraraka, conveniently not noticing Todoroki’s entire face, the hot and cold sides alike, turning red.

“I was planning on going home but then my mom went on a surprise vacation to Kyoto with some of her high school friends and well why would I go home if my mom’s not there?”

“Honestly,” Ochako giggled. “You mama’s boy. Well, what did you come down here for? Don’t think we don’t know you well enough to know you’re debating something. How can we help?”

The last sentence was said semi-rhetorically. All of Midoriya’s friends knew he would never ask for help, so instead they would just bulldoze through and offer advice and support even as Izuku would say guys I’m fine, seriously I don’t need anything. 

“You know how I didn’t get my quirk until really late?” Izuku asked, speech a little quicker than normal.

Both of them nodded, remembering back to a year ago when in a half-asleep daze Izuku had responded to a _you can’t even use your quirk properly how fucking useless are you Deku_ with _Kacchan you human sparkler I’ve only had this quirk for a year so shut up already_. 

“Before that, we all thought I was quirkless. My mom, everyone in the neighborhood and at school, and I just… you guys know it wasn’t easy and-” 

“You think you’re lucky,” Todoroki interjected. “To have the quirk you have now. And now you’re wondering about all those other quirkless kids who didn’t end up getting a quirk.”

“Yeah,” Izuku admitted. “With this service project, I thought I could do something for quirkless kids but I wouldn’t even know where to start.” 

“You’ve always had good ideas Deku,” Uraraka mentioned. “Just don’t second guess yourself and go with your gut. The first thing that popped into your mind when Aizawa-Sensei mentioned the project is what you should go with.” 

“I guess that could work.” Izuku said as he began to mutter under his breath, gesturing to himself and writing something in one of his ever-present notebooks. 

He began to head back to his dorm, ready to write down the flurry of ideas that were clamoring for space in his head. 

“Wait, watch out for the…”

_Thunk_

Well maybe he’d get to work after he got his head checked out by Recovery Girl. 

—

Two days later, and Izuku still had nothing. So in the spirit of high school students who can’t or don’t want to finish their homework, he procrastinated, though instead of doing something fun like playing video games or going to a cafe with friends, he went running.

All of the Class 3A students had a dedicated training regimen specifically suited for their quirks and fighting styles. With his shoot style, Izuku’s training mostly involved cardio and leg-strengthening exercises: biking, running, swimming, all while carrying hundreds of pounds on each leg. Still, today was supposed to be a day off, so Izuku thought he’d just limit his training to a 15km run instead.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time,” Iida Tenya said, catching up to Izuku quickly with his engine legs. He and Izuku were the only ones on U.A.’s track, being the two members of Class 3A most dedicated to lower body exercise. “Two years ago, with Stain.”

He paused for a second. “I - I let my anger get the best of me, but in some ways, Stain wasn’t wrong. Sometimes it seems as if the modern hero system needs to be fixed; there are a lot of heroes that are only searching for money or fame. But still, it is not as though Stain was correct either. My brother had done nothing wrong other than team up with some of the more frivolous heroes from time to time and so, I think I want to help design an accountability system where heroes and sidekicks alike can comment on behavior of their comrades. I know something like this could lead to a lot of false accusations, but if we could catch unheroic behavior before it becomes something that can harm the general populace, then maybe it will be worth it.” 

“Tenya, how did you I was worried about-” 

“It is my duty as a future hero to know when my beloved classmate and friend needs me!” 

“Uraraka told you didn’t she.”

“Making use of available resources is itself a valuable skill.” 

“She did,” Izuku sighed. 

“It is the mark of a good person that so many people are jumping to attention to help you my friend,” Iida replied.

Izuku went red from embarrassment, face and arms both turning red and hot to the touch.

“In fact Midoriya-” 

“Young Iida, do you mind if I borrow Izuku here for a couple of minutes?” All Might said, nearly appearing out of thin air, handkerchief near his mouth lightly stained a reddish brown.

“Of course, All Might sir!” Iida hollered. “I will talk to Midoriya at a later time. I wish you both a good day.” Iida continued to run, dashing away from the two of them, with Izuku wondering how slowly his friend must have been running to keep pace with him.

“All Might, did you want to ask me something?” 

“No my boy, we just haven’t been able to talk in confidence for a while. Do you have anything you’d like to discuss with me?” 

“I think, I think I want to leave the country.”

All Might coughed blood into his hand, small pupils slightly widened in shock.

“Forever?” 

Izuku backed away and began waving his arms frantically. “No no no definitely not. I’m sorry! It’s just that.” He stopped speaking for a second.

“Yes? Izuku, whatever it is, I’m here to listen.”

The young boy turned his eyes to the ground. 

“I told you years ago that I was bullied pretty badly in middle school for being quirkless.” All Might nodded. “If I hadn’t received One for All who knows what would have happened to me, if I could have done the things I’ve done with my life. I would’ve given up altogether I think. And I love Japan, don’t get me wrong, but there was no one who helped me. There are so few quirkless people in Japan that no one wants to help us and there’s no legal protections for us against a lot of things, and I just want to live in a place that doesn’t treat us like second-class citizens.” 

“Oh,” All Might said quietly. “And you think going somewhere else with a higher percentage of quirkless people may help you with the perspective needed to come up with some ideas.” 

Izuku nodded and looked up, fearing his mentor’s disapproval. To his surprise, All Might grabbed the back of Izuku’s head and brought him into a hug.

“Remember my boy. Before I received One for All, I was quirkless too. Of course I would understand. Of course I’ll always support you in whatever you do.” He thought for a second. “Well, unless you decide to forego the life of a hero and become a cabbage farmer. And even then I’d only try to gently discourage you.” 

Izuku laughed weakly, tears welling up in his eyes. 

“Ah there’s my prince of nonsense. It’s a wonder explosive crying isn’t your quirk.” 

Izuku continued to cry. All Might had given him so much over the years. That fateful moment when they met - without it, maybe Izuku wouldn’t be here right now. 

With that last thought Izuku knew what he was going to do.

_Well then, how do I tell mom I want to spend summer break in a different country?_

**

**SmallMight**  @ allmightisbestmight . June 20

Soooooo guess who's going to be visiting America in less than a month?? @iamthenight-wing @centralchemistrypuns

5 comments, 4 retweets, 104 likes

**InMyElement**  @centralchemistrypuns retweeted

**GothamNights**  @iamthenight-wing . June 20 

  Replying to @allmightisbestmight

  No way. You have to stop in Gotham. @centralchemistrypuns thinks Flash is the best JL hero when obviously it's Batman. You can break the tie. 

As if, @allmightisbestmight definitely agrees that Flash is the best.  

12 comments, 16 retweets, 308 likes

Show this thread

**

**dekiru**

[Video Description: a young man is sitting in a window seat on a plane waving outside to the clouds beside him; the sun is rising, turning the sky into a kaleidoscope of warm colors: red, orange, pink]

150 views - Liked by uravity12, ingenium.tenya and 12 others

**dekiru**  America here I come #firstflight #wishmeluck #lookatthatsky #summerabroad #studyabroad #U.A.

View all 13 comments

**uravity12** deku we already missss youuuuuuu @ingenium.tenya @icecoldshoto  
**ingenium.tenya** uraraka is correct, but of course as your friends we support you in all of your endeavors @uravity12  
**icecoldshoto** try to be careful for once. take pictures.   
**dekudekudeku333**  wait, my favorite to-be-hero and night blogger is coming to my country, sign me the fuck up 

6 hours ago

**

**Two Weeks Ago, July 6th, 8:00pm - 8:20pm EST : Location - Crime Alley; East End, Gotham City USA**

Thank goodness UA subsidized his flight and housing, Izuku thought as he opened the mini-fridge in his studio apartment. Gotham real estate was fairly cheap, on account of no one wanting to live in the city proper.

Yelp reviews of the city ranged from “This town is a 12-year-old emo teen's idea of how a city should be structured: more gargoyles than I needed to ever see outside of a Disney movie and the hospital keeps getting demolished every week because a half-rate clown thinks it's funny,” and “In Gotham I've been struck by lightning twice and had to put on a gas mask four times to walk to the grocery store (fuck you Poison Ivy) so please don't ever move here” to “Red Robin beat up my would-be mugger and then awkwardly patted my back as I cried on his shoulder, 10/10 would recommend.” 

Wayne Real Estate's slogan of the month was "Don't let the Criminal Clown bring you down. Jokes on him, home prices are lower than ever," which really told you all you needed to know about Gotham.

Still though, with a decrease in home and apartment prices came a huge increase in renter's insurance, owing to “acts of comedic villainy, exotic flora and fauna-related property damage, and vigilante insurance” being required as a separate insurance package before a hopeful renter could sign any sort of lease in Gotham City. 

What this really boiled down to was a lack of funds to spend on furniture for Izuku's tiny apartment. One room with an attached bathroom & a small kitchenette didn't seem to need much, but the place came completely unfurnished. 

A problem for another day, Izuku thought, re-checking the fridge and hoping he'd be greeted by something other than cobwebs and dust. 

It's midnight now, and though he should probably be asleep, it's 1:00pm in Japan and by now he would've already been finished with his run, sat in for morning classes and have headed off to his internship. And so with pent-up energy he left his apartment. 

The nearest convenience store was about 15 minutes away on foot, which was supposedly quite good for America, and if Izuku walked really quickly, he could maybe get back and have enough time to both eat and get a good night's sleep, which would make today the first time in months that he'd been able to do so. 

This was because of his third year internship with Miruko, the top ranked female hero at No.4 on the Billboard JP list. She had been bumped up a rank after Endeavor's fall from grace some weeks ago. While her quirk was suited to hero work and to teaching Izuku in particular, she was of the firm belief that only cowards worked in teams. It had taken Izuku weeks of begging and bribery for her to even look in his direction and a week after that before she had finally agreed to take him as a third-year intern on an interim basis. One wrong move and he'd be kicked out to the curb faster than he could  _mumble in that creepy voice jeez you weirdo kid_.

As such, his third-year internship had been a challenge to say the least. Still, he was learning more to refine his shoot style than he'd ever thought he could, and despite her brash attitude, Miruko was one of the most tactically-minded heroes he'd ever met. They strangely complemented each other, and by week 4, he even had her admitting  _you're not so bad after all kid, even if you still need to learn how to keep your thoughts in your head_. 

The rest of his class didn't have an easier time of it either. Kacchan, to no one's surprise, had ended up interning again with Best Jeanist. The No.2 hero had mentored him after their first year UA Sports Festival. All of Class 3A had remembered how much Kacchan had complained about the forced hairstyle and dress code, but still year after year he interned with Best Jeanist's office. Kacchan would bluster when asked  _shut the fuck up you nosy assholes_  but he didn't try to explode them & really that was a huge improvement over their first year. 

No one else was much of a surprise either. Ochako was interning with Thirteen, and Tsuyu with Ryukyu. Ochako had interned with more combat-oriented heroes in the past couple of years and wanted to round out her resumé and gain some needed rescue hero skills. None of the other Class 3-A members thought she was lacking in any possible way, but hyper-competitive Uraraka was a terror and not to be disturbed if possible. Tsuyu had interned with Ryukyu, citing a successful first-year internship while Iida was working at his brother's agency to not only get a feel for patrolling & the general schedule of a sidekick but also for how to start and maintain his own hero agency.

Todoroki ... all of UA had assumed he'd continue to intern with his father. But earlier that year he had come into school with two broken arms and told Izuku he'd _rather_ _rot than work with that old bastard again_. After a series of talks with his mother, Fuyumi, and Izuku, he quietly agreed that enough was enough. Three months later, Endeavor had been arrested on domestic abuse charges, and well. That was that.

All of them were also juggling third year service, but none of them were dumb enough to pick a project requiring international travel. No the honor of most-stubborn dumbass went to Izuku himself. 

Speaking of idiots, Izuku probably shouldn't have been walking alone. "Most of the people in America," All Might had told his protege once, "dislike and admire people with quirks in equal measure."

"It's only been recently that quirks have been popping up in America. Though what their heroes lack in experience they make up for with heroic spirit!" 

This really didn't tell Izuku much about the history of quirkless people in America, but years of exposure had made Izuku admit to himself - deep down - that  _maaaaaybe_  All Might could work on being a little less vague. Just a  _tinyyyyyyyy_  bit.

With All Might's advice in mind, Izuku had vowed to himself to attempt to not use his quirk in America. While he knew himself well enough to know that this would be impossible, it was at least a goal to strive for.

"Get back here you brats!" The left side of his shirt rustled up in the air as two grown men, one woman, one teenager, and one young child ran past him. The three men were armed with knives, while the young man was carrying the child on his back, huffing, wheezing, arms and legs shaking.

He straightened up with attention. 7,000 miles away from UA and still dealing with villains on the way to the grocery store. How typical. 

_Not even two days, and I've already broken my promise._

“Give it up kid. There’s no place left to run,” Izuku heard as he followed them into the alley.

“Please just don’t hurt my sister. I know what I did was stupid but it was me not her. She’s just a kid. Let me get her back home and then I’ll come with you quietly. Please.”

“You should’ve thought of that before you decided to cross us Drew. We can’t just let you go you know. Would send the wrong kind of message. Wouldn't want any of the local gangs thinking that we can be messed with so easily now would we,” said the man closest to Izuku, his eyes gleaming, a rapturous smile on his face.

“Nah, we definitely wouldn’t want that Sal,” said the woman. With a great amount of noise at an extremely slow place, she drew out a pistol, the dulled gray of it gleaming with the flickers of Gotham’s street lamps.

“So what should we do Mary?” the second man asked. “Can I deal with them, please?” His pupils were round with a blue-green sheen, fingers ending in clawed points matching the grooves on the concrete walls beside him.   

As the three adults began talking amongst themselves Drew attempted to sneak around them, sister still firmly held on his back. Izuku had been waiting to assess the situation - hoping for a clear view of the villains with the two civilians out of the way before he engaged them. 

The kids were just a couple feet from Izuku before the criminals stopped arguing, heads turning around in sync, three pairs of eyes narrowing. The man closest to them leapt, arms outstretched, hand aiming for the young child on Drew’s back. 

_Snap_

Before he could make contact, Izuku’s right hand firmly grasped his wrist, bones creaking in Izuku’s hold.

“Aaugh,” he looked at Izuku. “Fuck! Kid what the fuck let me go right now!” 

“I can’t do that. I can’t let you hurt them,” Izuku said, slightly crouched, his left arm in a fist by his chest, right arm extended. 

“Do you know what that fucking kid did? Huh? You wouldn’t be so quick to defend him if you knew what kind of shit he’s done.”

“All I see is someone that needs help. Whatever he’s done, none of that matters. I couldn’t call myself a hero otherwise!”

“A hero?” all three of the adults look at each other and start laughing. “That’s not what this city is. That’s not what this city has. The ‘heroes’,” he said with great disbelief, “tout all these so called fancy ideals. But really they’re no more than glorified attack dogs, fighting anyone who doesn’t follow their fragile worldview. So kid if you really want to be a hero then go help an old lady cross the street or put out a couple fires. Leave us criminals alone to deal with one of our own.”

“I can’t do that,” Izuku repeated, eyes firm. “What kind of hero would I be to leave someone who needs me?”  

Drew’s eyes were pleading. No matter how many people Izuku had seen in crisis, no matter the diversity in age, appearance, gender of the people that he had saved, they all had one thing in common.

_Their eyes cried for help._

“Mister,” the teenager froze as his sister turned her head to Izuku, “are you really going to help us? Are you really a hero?” 

At this point, it was instinct for him to kneel on the gravel road, eyes level with the younger child, hand gently placed on her shoulder.

“Everything will be ok,” Izuku said to her. “Do you know why?”

Somehow those words filled the alley, as if he was not only speaking to her, but also to her brother, and maybe even to the villains too.

No, her eyes whispered out, large & beseeching. Her brother's face was pale, his fingers trembling, small whimpers escaping from his mouth.

“Because I am here.”

And Izuku sprung into action.

From the newly created shadows, Gotham's Boogeyman watched as green sparks lit up the night.

**


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn’t able to get this out as early as I thought, my apologies. The chapter’s a smidge longer than the previous to compensate. I’m merging a couple of the DC Universes, since I can’t keep them straight tbh. Elements taken from Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (the cartoons) and Young Justice alike. Still more exposition than I’d like unfortunately.

**Almost Present, July 20th, 10 minutes before interrogation : Location - Watchtower, Justice League, USA**

Watchtower - Recognized, 04 Flash  
Watchtower - Recognized, D08 Criminal Suspect Level 8, Caution Advised

Izuku opened his eyes, disintegrating and reforming as beams of yellow light being nauseating at best. While his world was still spinning, he took note of the transparent walls and steel surfaces, high-tech equipment past the level of what current science had achieved.

_One more thing to put on the list I suppose, how over-reliance on quirk is still hampering Japan’s technological and scientific process._

More impressive though than his surroundings were the people. Or rather, the lack of people. In Musutafu, it wasn’t uncommon for Izuku to see heroes on the street. While they weren’t exactly on the same level as civilians, they were still considered people. They didn’t have secret identities like the heroes in the west, and since near everyone had a quirk in Japan, their powers weren’t seen as mystical or otherworldly. On a normal day, Izuku would see one or two heroes on his way to the fish market or to the arcade. And that was outside of U.A. Even as a kid he’d been able to find villain fights with relative ease.

Here, there was no one. Sure there were gleaming machines with the occasional person reading reports, but the number of people on the Watchtower was it? was minimal. It gave the place a sort of eerie feel, and for a second Izuku wondered how the people in America could ever trust their own heroes, when their base was in outer space, separate from humanity and the Earth.

_I wonder, did the American heroes even inform other countries before propping up this base on an asteroid. What if it crashes? When was it put up here? Did it have any impact on the weather?_

With that disturbing thought - a day wasn’t complete without Izuku analyzing something to its worst outcome _fuck you anxious mind_ \- Izuku turned to the hero guiding him through the Watchtower.

“Ummmmmmm Mr. Flash sir?”

“What?” the hero said, hand on Izuku’s shoulder jerking a little bit out of surprise. “Oh you’re finally talking kid.” 

When Barry was asked to apprehend a kid in Gotham, he had been surprised to say the least. Everyone knew Gotham was Batman’s territory, and so for Black Canary to assign a mission to him instead seemed a bit off. He had thought about pestering for more details, knowing that as soon as Bruce was to hear about a meta in Gotham he’d go ballistic.

_Flash… while I respect your abilities as a superhero, Gotham is a meta-free area unless otherwise specified. An influx of meta-powered heroes in the city would lead to a compensatory increase in meta-powered villains, and Gotham has enough crime to deal with. So please, think of the consequences next time before you do something like this._

But well Dinah knew that too, and so for her to ask this of him, something must be wrong. Bruce shouldn’t have been out of town. There were no missions that required his specific expertise, and well, that could only mean that Bruce was missing… or worse. 

So he agreed, and quickly ran from Central to the designated coordinates in Gotham. 

Dinah had told Barry that the mission would be quick, a simple in-and-out sort of thing, and it was. Barry had seen a green-haired kid on the ground, small lacerations all over his body, covering his arms and legs with a couple on his face as well. The whole thing had given him a nasty feeling in his stomach; no matter how many crimes he had stopped, kids were always the worst.

And he had been ordered to bring this kid to the Watchtower ASAP. 

As the Flash, Barry Allen had accepted long ago that being the fastest man in the room did not necessarily make him the smartest, but seeing a kid the same age as Wally or maybe a little younger, unconscious, clearly having gone through some sort of fight - it really left a bad taste in his mouth.

Still though, criminals had done more devious things than use children in their schemes. Barry wouldn’t even be surprised if the kid was a criminal disguised as someone younger to throw off any heroes attempting to apprehend him.

So he quickly cuffed the kid, and carried him to the nearest Zeta Tube, inputting the code to ID a possible suspect. 

And here they were.

“Umm, hello Mr. Flash? Can you hear me?” 

“Oh yeah yeah sorry kid, my mind just flew away from me for a Flash. Get it? Flash?” 

“I think so? Was that supposed to be wordplay? English isn’t my first language, so I’m not sure if it translates well?” the kid said with clear hesitance in his voice, fingers twisting together, biting his lip slightly. He saw Flash looking at him and:

“I - I’m sorry if I offended you,” with hands and arms flailing in the air. “I didn’t mean it. I just -”

“It’s okay kid, relax. You didn’t offend me.” 

“No, you don’t understand! I’m a big fan!” 

_I wasn’t expecting that._

“You are?” 

“Yeah!” he said, eyes shining in excitement. “Your fights against Captain Cold and the other members of your Rogue gallery are amazing. The way you use your powers without extensive damage to transportation infrastructure - how do you manage to move so quickly without destroying the roads and surfaces you walk on? The sheer control over your powers necessary - I know that you can move at least at the speed of sound, and can vibrate through objects presumably through taking advantage of quantum tunneling, but have you ever thought about possible other applications where”  

“Woah slow down kid, was there a question in there?” 

“Haha, I guess so?” the kid said, mouth slightly open as if trying to attempt a smile. “Are the fan theories really true about the way you gained your powers?”

“Well, I’m not sure what they say, so hit me and maybe I’ll tell you which ones are the most ridiculously wrong.” 

“There are three prevailing internet theories that most people put their support behind: 1. that you were born with your powers, 2. you received your powers after some sort of triggering event, or 3. you’re an alien like Superman and your alien physiology adapted to Earth’s environment to create your powers.” 

The kid took a deep breath before continuing.

“Personally, I think it’s the second one. There aren’t many people in America who are born with their powers, and the ones that are tend to have some sort of family history behind it. From what I can tell, there are a few other people in American history with speed-related powers, but the mechanisms behind each of them all seem slightly different. Additionally, about a month before you began your run as Flash there was a huge thunderstorm in Central City with several people being struck by lightning. And now I know this is a long-shot, so many people laughed at me with this theory, but I think… that the lightning interacted with your body somehow. It’s strange, but your powers seem to be based on electricity! Some of the hero-chasers in Central City have recorded signals on homemade lightning detectors up to 3 days after one of your fights!. Was it the lightning then? Did it create some sort of spontaneous mutation similar to how a quirk would present? Do you think your ability is genetically transferable then?” 

“Ummmmmmmm,” Flash said, trying his best to stall the conversation. 

_If people in Central have already thought about my powers to this extent, then maybe I should call in Batman at some point. People in his city either think he’s a vampire, a demented satanist, or an actual bat that decided to take human form._

Thankfully, Barry didn’t have to answer, their destination just ahead. 

Now this is the part he was going to hate the most.

“Alright kid, we’re here.” 

“Here?” the kid looked around the cell, metal table in the center, transparent glass walls all-around.

“Sorry kid, this is where I was told to bring you in.” 

“But, but I don’t think I did anything wrong? Did I?” 

“Not for me to judge. I only got there after you were knocked out.” 

“I guess so,” about half, though not all, of the admiration the kid had been expressing was suddenly wiped from his eyes. Instead his brow furrowed, fingers tapping against his knees, mumbling softly. He didn’t struggle.

That only made Barry feel a bit worse.

**

**Two-and-a-Half Months Ago, Sunday April 29: Location - U.A.High School, Musutafu Japan**

**UAaaaaaaaay Crew**  
Deck-u, Shouto, Urararavity, and You

Urararavity  
why is it raining, someone come entertain me   
I’m boreeeeeeeeeeeeeed 

Shouto  
hi bored, i’m dad

Deck-u is typing…

Urararavity  
oh shut it you useless shut-in. i bet you were   
planning on training, or sleeping. actually how   
are you always sleeping all the time? 

Shouto is typing…  
Deck-u is typing...                                                      

                                                                            Todoroki-kun, Uraraka is correct to be worried.   
                                                                            A hero must always be watching out for their own   
                                                                            health. If you have any troubles go see Recovery Girl   
                                                                            immediately!

Deck-u  
[Picture Description: a bowl with cut & cooked salmon,   
edamame, and pickled onions, atop a plate of green   
cooked rice, chopsticks laid to the side] 

Healthy salmon and matcha rice to start the day!

Urararavity is typing…  
Shouto is typing…  
You are typing…

Urararavity   
wut. deku this is what you decide to text us with   
after a week in the hospital?? 

Urararavity  
also that looks so good. I want someeee.

Shouto  
japanese-style with a western twist  
very you. 

                                                                            Midoriya that looks suspiciously like one of your   
                                                                            breakfast meals from training plan #7. You’re not   
                                                                            overworking yourself are you? :) :) :)

Urararavity  
shit. former class president is terrifying. how   
are the smileys so ominous

Shouto  
training plan #7. how many training plans do   
you have Izuku? 

Deck-u  
wait, how did you know about my training plans  
Tenya? I keep them hidden -

                                                                            Underneath your All Might pillow case? Anyone with  
                                                                            a basic understanding of you would know where   
                                                                            they are. You should really change hiding places if   
                                                                            you want to actually keep things secret.

Urararavity  
… you just got demolished Deku

Shouto  
rest in pieces Izuku

Deck-u  
guyssssssssssssss

                                                                            Midoriya-kun you just got out of the hospital.   
                                                                            You definitely shouldn’t be overworking yourself like this!

Deck-u  
I’m not, i’m not, I promise 

Urararavity  
deku

Shouto  
Izuku.

Deck-u  
[Picture Description: Midoriya Inko smiling to the camera]   
I promise! See. Mom’s not letting me leave the house. 

                                                                            Fine then. If there’s anyone that can keep you in line, it’s   
                                                                            Midoriya-san. But we’ll all be watching…

Urararavity  
Izuku, this is maybe a bad time to bring it up but  
what can you tell us about what happened? is it all   
classified?

Deck-u  
I don’t think it’s classified or anything, just weird.  
He could’ve escaped after nearly blowing-up my legs,  
but he just stayed and let himself get captured? Strange. 

Shouto  
blowing-up your legs… how very you

Urararavity  
**blowing-up your legs!!!!**

                                                                            Midoriya-kun you did not tell us about this.

Deck-u  
Ah, haha yeah? He came pretty close, but I’m fine  
now guys! lol.

Urararavity  
sometimes I hate you 

**

**Back to Two Weeks Ago, July 6th, 8:25pm EST : Location - Crime Alley; East End, Gotham City USA**

The fight is over too quickly for Batman's liking. 

It goes something like this: green lightning surrounds a young man who has thus far seemed unassuming, standing out from the usual attitudes of those who reside in Gotham. An instant, and suddenly he has moved over twenty feet from the children he has been reassuring, to directly in front of the adults threatening them.

“Cover your eyes please. It will be over in a second.”

And it was.

Before the criminals could protest, the green?? haired kid had stunned one of them with an elbow to the stomach. While the other two were gaping, he kicked the woman’s feet from under her, pinning her back to the ground with a well-worn red sneaker.

The last man standing attempted a head-on charge, but as Batman watched, he was taken out by a quick punch to the neck.

_Wince_

It looked excruciatingly painful, the man now gasping for air. 

“Stay down,” the boy said, voice slightly louder than before. The three criminals were too dazed to disagree, even as they caught their breath. 

He turned to look at the two civilians. “I know this is a long-shot, but do any of you have something I can tie these people up with?” 

Drew and his sister remained silent for a minute before speaking. “Uh, no. Sorry. Wasn’t exactly expecting…” a hand gesture to the downed villains, their savior's entire body and the still-present green lightning surrounding him. “This.” 

“Yeah,” the boy said, fingers awkwardly moving side to side in short bursts, “I guess that was kind of silly of me wasn’t it.”

“Just a little bit,” one of the men said on the ground. “Could’ve asked us you know. Can’t believe you think the dumb kids would have rope and we wouldn’t. Kind of humiliating to be underestimated like that.”  

“Shut up Paul you fucking idiot,” the female villain, Mary replied. “Just shut up. Fucking hell I’m surrounded by idiots.” 

“Hey!” the other man grumbled.

“Yeah like you’re any better Sal. At least I didn’t fuck up a job to take out a teenage brat. Look what you’ve done! This job couldn’t have gotten any worse.” 

“I fucked up? You didn’t even come up with a plan. How was I supposed to know a do-gooder would just show up like that? I’m not a god Mary, I can’t account for everything. Besides, at least the goddamn Bat-“

“Shhhhhhhhhh,” Paul hissed. “Speak of the devil and he’ll appear.” 

“You’re such a superstitious shit Paul,” Mary replied. “None of that shit’s real. You and your stupid: the moon portends badly for Capricorns bullshit.”

“You call it bullshit, but if we had just listened to me we wouldn’t have even done this until tomorrow.” 

“Why are you two like this? What did I do to deserve this,” Sal complained.

“You’re worse than both of us combined!” Mary and Paul yelled.

As this continued, green-hair’s eyes gradually went from ‘bright and energetic with anger’ to ‘dull and dead with the sentiment of someone who has had to deal with too many in-group arguments when fighting with multiple villains’. It was a strangely specific emotion that Batman was almost impressed at being able to recognize. It did speak of extensive villain-fighting experience. 

“Ok, you know what. That one with the ear,” the kid pointed to the now-named Paul, who did indeed in the past have an unfortunate accident resulting in the disappearance of his right ear lobe, “just said that he has rope with him. So I’m just going to tie you three up with it before I hand you over to the police, any questions?” 

“Like hell we’ll let you do that to us.” 

“Yeah no way.”

“Screw you kid.” 

“I don’t know what you’re expecting,” the kid turned towards them, eyes dark, grinning. “I just beat all three of you in less time than it takes to crack an egg.” 

The three criminals gulped in unison, but acknowledged the kid’s words, meekly allowing him to tie them up with thick ropes of cable.

“Um, excuse me?” Drew said. “Just so you know, the police officers in Gotham are notoriously corrupt. You’d need to make sure they don’t release these three after a couple days in jail.” 

“Oh,” the boy replied. “That would have caused some problems. Thank you! Do you have any idea where I could turn them in?”

Drew just shook his head.

“Oh and it’s Deku. Sorry I didn’t introduce myself sooner.” said the kid, mumbling in a low voice. “I have to work on that, sorry.” 

All three of the villains groaned as they heard this exchange.

“Shit kid,” Sal said. “Why’d you have to tell him that?”

“Ugh, you’re the worst Drew.” Mary added. “We were just going to let him take us to the police station and then bam, three days later we’d have escaped.” She grumbled under her breath. “Damn kids ruining all our fun.”

_Now this was the part Batman liked the best._

“If you’re tired of children, why not try dealing with me instead.” 

“Oh fuck,” the three said in unison. 

**

To: [richard.grayson@wayne-enterprises.net](mailto:richard.grayson@wayne-enterprises.net)                                                                                                    23/06/18  
From: [izuku3a16@ua.edu](mailto:izuku3a16@ua.edu)

Subject: Re: would you like a place to stay?

Hi Dick,

Wow it’s so strange to call you by your first name! Even if you Americans do it that way. If you haven’t already guessed, this is Izuku replying to the email you sent about your offer. I’ll be spending time in America from 6 july - 30 august. I’ll be in Gotham for about three weeks, until 30 july and then in Metropolis for the last month. You had said that I could ‘hit you up’ for a place to stay, and while I have a place to live, instead I was wondering if your schedule would be free enough during that month for us to meet and get lunch or something? My treat.

I’ve wanted to meet you for some time now, and we’ve had some really interesting discussions on the use and regulations of public superpower use, along with possible implications sociopolitically and economically. I would love to continue our discussions, and maybe we could invite Wally too? I don’t have his email, but if we could contact him it’d be amazing! We could talk about superheroes and what you guys do in real life. It would be great.

Yeah sorry, I guess I got away from the original point of this email, but thank you again for the offer. I won’t be needing a place to stay, but I’d love if we three could meet up.

Looking forward to it!

Midoriya Izuku  
U.A. 3rd year student  
Head Intern, Miruko Office 

**

**Just A Day over Two Weeks Ago, July 5 : Location - Bradley International Airport, Connecticut USA**

“Ladies and gentlemen as we start our descent please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position. Make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stowed underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins.”

Izuku jolted awake. The flight from Japan to America lasted a total of 15 hours with no layovers. He had spent half the night watching out of date in-flight movies, and the other half attempting to sleep while the baby in Seat 25C shrieked, having already decided that sleep was for the weak. 

Needless to say, Izuku was barely able to sleep himself. The excitement of actually landing gave him enough energy to keep his eyes open. This was the first time he had ever left Japan, and he was going to America of all places! The country that All Might himself took inspiration from! 

Still though, there was more than one reason Izuku had decided to spend a couple of months in America. Other countries, most of them in the West, had majority quirkless populations. It wasn’t just his love of all things related to All Might that made him pick this one. 

_Everyone would probably have tried to stop me from leaving if they knew why I really wanted to come here so badly. Actually, from how they were talking, I think Shouto may already know…_

“Ladies and gentlemen welcome to Bradley International Airport. Local time is 5:55pmand the temperature is 75 degrees Fahrenheit. On behalf of United Airlines and the entire crew, I’d like to thank you for joining us on this trip and we are looking forward to seeing you on board again in the near future. Have a nice stay!” 

He sat up straight in his seat, fingers clenched in the fabric of his cargo shorts, eyes gleaming. 

_Here I come._

**

**dekudekudeku333** reblogged **number1-allmightfan**

**number1-allmightfan**

So my followers have been asking for a while for me to do a series on international superheroes. If you’re new to the blog, I do analyses of superheroes: their history, powers, recent and current battles. What I won’t do is analyze anything that isn’t publicly accessible or analyze superhero weaknesses. This is for fun; I’m not in the business of helping any villains or criminals out to hurt heroes. 

If you want to see what I’ve already written, follow my #analysisjapan tag. For the series on international superheroes, the tag is dependent on the country. For example #analysisameria or #analysisfrance.

I’m going to start off with American superheroes, since they’re the most recognizable outside of Japan. There’s a **huge**  number of them so instead I’ll just start off with the original 7 founding members of the Justice League. 

Now to preface, I have a lot of problems with the Justice League. Their heroes are doing great work, don’t get me wrong, but the complete lack of information accessibility on what they do specifically is somewhat concerning. Granted, they do sign a separate treaty with each individual country they fight in, but they’re not nearly as transparent as they should be, considering the scale of their powers. And yet it’s understandable! We’ve all heard reports of how President Luthor has been very anti-Justice League and specifically very anti-Superman. There have even been rumors of LexCorp trying to manufacture Kryptonite (which is bad enough let alone taking into account the other rumor about him trying to **clone**  Superman without his consent, see this post for more details). So really I guess what I’m trying to say is that the whole system’s a bit dysfunctional and that there has to be changes on both sides.

Well, now that I’ve gone off on a tangent, here’s my thoughts on the heroes of the Justice League.

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#analysisseries #dekuanalysis #superhero #meta #insteadofstudyingformyexamsimreadingdekusposts #thisiswhyallofmyteacherssecretlyhateme #whydoiprocrastinatelikethis #theworldwillneverknow #alsohesgoingtobeinamericasoon #hopefullyacoincidencewillallowustomeetamirite #impresshimwithmythoughtsonthecurrentpowerbalancebetweentheusgovernmentandthejusticeleague #isitweirdthatimhighkeyinlovewithhim #sigh #thatbodywiththatbrain #whatsnottolike 

**

**Two Months Ago, May 27: Location - Aizawa Shouta’s Office, U.A. High School, Musutafu Japan**

15:50. The second hand of the clock ticked, time passing by excruciatingly slowly. 

_Just ten more minutes and I’m done for the day._

Now normally, Aizawa Shouta, voted ‘most likely to apprehend a villain while asleep’ by his graduating class, was enthusiastic about teaching. Granted his main method of transportation, the sleeping bag, seemed to contradict this, but all of the teachers at U.A. would easily say that Eraserhead worked the hardest to teach his students. 

_Maybe just a small nap, a tiny bit of rest. Any student with a frivolous complaint will be too scared to wake me up, so I should be un-interrupted. Just a couple minutes._

“Aizawa-sensei!”

_Oi. Unfair. That wasn’t even a couple seconds._

Aizawa poked his head out from his sleeping bag, staring at the clock mounted on the wall, eyes narrowed. The effect was startlingly similar to a caterpillar undergoing metamorphosis, if a 30+ year old man with unruly black hair and an unholy gleam to his eyes could be called a butterfly, or a violently yellow sleeping bag a chrysalis.

“Sensei, please? I just have oneeee quick question.” 

_That specific inquisitive inflection could only be-_

“It’s never one question with you Midoriya. You’ll tell me it’s one question and then suddenly I’m supervising an unauthorized sparring session between you and your classmates, or being roped into one of your internship missions or worst of all explaining to All Might why ‘calling someone my boy does seem to indicate some form of paternal attachment so sign the emergency contact slip or shut up Yagi.’” 

Izuku's face nearly turned red, remembering some of the awkward moments Aizawa has witnessed over the past years. Still, two years as his student had made Izuku somewhat immune to his teacher’s quips.

“Might as well ask me Midoriya. We both know I’ll complain but ultimately end up helping you with whatever ridiculous request you have now.”

“Does U.A. set aside any funding for international study abroad programs?” 

“… surprisingly, few students want to leave U.A., it being the **country’s best hero training school**. You’re the first student to ask about outside training opportunities in eight years I think, last time being that one kid who wanted to move to Paris after he graduated.”

“Did he?” 

“No,” Aizawa stated. “He ended up staying in Japan with a short career as a rescue-themed hero before injuring himself and a civilian in a hostage situation and permanently retiring.” 

“Oh. Do you mean Tightrope? From what I heard the hostage situation was a set-up; he’s actually working in Yokohama as an underground hero. I heard he was key in crippling one of the branches of an international drug cartel a couple of years back.” 

_Sigh_

“It’s never easy with you is it Midoriya.” 

The brat had the gall to grin, mouth opening and eyes shining. 

_Shit he looks more and more like Yagi every day._

“You wouldn’t like me nearly as much then Aizawa-sensei.” 

_And the gall to be right._

“This is going to be a long weekend isn’t it.” 

**

**One-and-a-Half Months Ago, May 28 - June 2 : Locations - Multiple, Secret**

“You just got out of the hospital.” 

“It’s been a month Miruko! Please! I’ve been involved up till this point. Please. I just need to be a part of how this. Don’t take me out of the loop now.” 

“Midoriya.” Izuku stopped. Even now that Miruko knew his name, she still rarely addressed him by it, instead calling him a variety of nicknames ranging from cute (bunny junior) to borderline cruel (suicidal dumbass). That she did now was an indication of… not anger exactly, but something else just as passionate.

“I get it you know.” 

Izuku tilted his head to the side, bunny ears on his green costume tilting along with him. “Get what?” 

“Your whole thing,” she said, pointing to his entire body. “I get it.”   

“What? You think I just accepted you as my intern because I was worn down by your persistence? How self-centered. Guess I can’t blame a brat like you for thinking that way. Don’t underestimate us professional heroes. I may not like to work in teams, but I hate doing extra work even more.” 

“All Might couldn’t stop talking about you. And even that monster Gran Torino had good things to say about you.” 

 She paused for a minute.

“There are so many people that care about you. So just, take care of yourself in the same way.” 

“Miruko, I,” Izuku choked, tears streaming down his face.

“Enough of the sappy stuff.  If you’re not cleared for combat, let’s talk about what exactly you are cleared for.” 

…

“You didn’t think I’d just let you sit here? If I’m going to work with another hero, I’m damn well going to use him. This way you’ll be 30% less useless than you’d be otherwise.”

“Only 30%?” 

“Be thankful dumb child that I didn’t reduce it down to 15% with that broken leg of yours. Just had to let that villain nearly shatter your legs. It’s a wonder you’ve managed to stay alive for so many years with such a lack of self-preservation.” 

“He was going to hurt a couple of kids. What was I supposed to do?” 

“Recognize the limitations of his quirk and call me for help? The thought never even crossed your mind did it? And that’s the main difference between you and me. Neither of us want to share our burdens with other heroes, but only one of us has the strength for such a conviction. Until you grow stronger, trying to go it alone is only a liability. Understood?” 

“.. Yes Miruko.” 

\--

“Sure this is the place?” Eraserhead said.  “Run me through the evidence.” 

Izuku looked straight ahead to the put-together building on the docks. The two of them were hiding in a nearby high-rise, both with telescoping support gear. The house was unassuming; it had probably used to be a storefront, maybe for seafood or swimming lessons or whale-watching, but it had been years since then. The key was in the details: the once bright paint had faded and cracked in places, neon signage dim and missing letters. 

Villains had been using the place as a drug dispensary for years now. 

“I took a look at the villain who attacked me. He’s been imprisoned twice in the past fifteen years, both for minor infractions with less than 3 years served each. The first time he shared a cell with a Sousuke Kouhei indicted for real-estate fraud. Three shell companies and two very obnoxious PAs later I was able to track several purchases made in Sousuke’s nephew’s name to this once-popular seafood restaurant.” 

“And?” 

“His nephew’s eighteen years old and studying in Korea to be a pediatrician. According to his blog updates, he’s been a vegetarian for 6 years. The restaurant was also doing very well until half-a-decade back when Sousuke was released from prison.” 

“Ok, plan of entry.” 

“There’s a couple of rotating guards in the morning - the okonomiya vendors, the ‘tourists’ by the bench - and with your notoriety, it would be a bad idea for us to commit to a plan during the day. At night, there’s six guards, two at the eastern entrance, three at the northern entrance, and one at the south, facing the docks. The two eastern guards are poorly trained with illusion-based quirks that require direct touch to function. So we go in through them.” 

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” 

\--

“That’s- that’s a tub full of propofol. Enough to keep ten adults sedated.” 

“Or thirty children.” 

\--

“Please. He’s my little brother. I don’t have anyone else I can turn to,” said a young woman of maybe college age. Her hair was loosely held in a bun, but several strands had come loose and were instead lying haphazardly around her face. Her low-lying platform shoes were worn and splattered with flecks of dirt on the side, her blouse and pants well-worn from use. 

Miruko was grinning. To anyone, it would have looked as though the hero was excited hearing about this situation. For all that Izuku’s internship mentor was an amazingly powerful hero, some of the more common rules of social interaction seemed to fly past her. She would leave conversations as soon as she was bored and ask intrusive & awkward questions to civilians seeking help. Really she was awkward with a serious passion for destroying ‘evil-doers’, but that rarely came across. 

And so, Izuku stepped in.

“Please. Tell us more. What happened?” 

She sniffled, a few tears running down from her eyes, mucus dripping from her nose. Izuku offered her a handkerchief from one of his hero outfit pockets. She blew her nose roughly and continued speaking.

“He. He’s a good kid you know. He’s only twelve years old and he would never run away. I don’t care what the police say! It’s just been me and him for years. He would never leave me without telling me.” 

Miruko interjected. “Then why is the police so sure he ran away.” 

The woman looked to the side, biting her inner lip. “He - he’s quirkless.” 

“Quirkless doesn’t mean a runaway, lady. Go on,” the rabbit hero emphasized.

“He was being bullied badly at school. Middle-schoolers are vicious; they would say awful things about him and throw away his books and ruin his clothes. I tried going to his teachers and the principal but they wouldn’t believe me! I really did try. They just said that it was just friendly rough-housing and that it wasn’t their fault if Ren couldn’t keep up.” 

She sniffled again. 

“What could I do? I’ve tried moving him to a different school, but I can’t afford any of the private schools and with my job we can’t move. And now this. He’s my little brother - how can I even call myself his family if I let him get kidnapped. What do I do now? How can I face our parents now?”

Izuku looked back at the woman again. Her hands were knotted up in each other, left foot tapping on the ground at unequal intervals. He could faintly see wrinkles on her forehead, her brows furrowed.  

“Miss-” 

“Rin, Kurono Rin.” 

“Why do you think he’s been kidnapped specifically? He could have gotten lost or been playing truant from school. What made you think that he was kidnapped?” 

“You’re going to think it’s stupid.” 

“Please.” 

“I go to a- I wouldn’t call it a support group, but a resource group maybe, for relatives of quirkless kids. We talk about what do with bullying or discrimination situations. What best to do when schools actively try to punish quirkless kids, or when doctors won’t even look at our kids when they’re sick.”

She took in a breath.

“The last time I went to one of the meetings over in Tokyo, one of the older women with a quirkless granddaughter described something similar. Her granddaughter just didn’t come back from school one day. And she wasn’t being bullied or anything. Honestly, her grandchild was the sweetest, happiest child I’ve ever met. And, she was just like my brother.”

“What do you mean?”

“They're both twelve years, born to parents with mutant quirks with an older sibling each. If I discarded gender, they’d be nearly the same person. That’s a type right? Crime dramas on tv say that criminals tend to abduct similar victims?” 

Izuku shared a look with Miruko.

\-- 

Izuku was walking down a staircase. When he and Eraserhead had investigated the fake restaurant on the docks, they had found a thriving drug manufacturing plant. One thing had led them to another, and another, and another, until finally Izuku was down here, still looking for the missing Kurono Ren. 

Well. Him and others. 

“From what Aizawa said, the villain hideout should be to your left.” 

Izuku didn’t respond, looking instead at the flickering overhead lights illuminating the underground structure. 

The same voice. “Can you hear me Izuku? Mmmhmmm. Is this on?” 

Izuku jumped. For a moment, he’d forgotten the earpiece connecting him to his support team.

“Y-Y-yes I can hear you A-A-All Might. I’m walking there right now.”

After Kamino Ward and his effective retirement, Yagi Toshinori had thought that was it.

_I’ve done as best as I could as the Symbol of Peace. For as long as I can, I will help to usher in a new era of heroics!_ was what he had thought.  

It had taken him years; years of Izuku, and Gran Torino, and Sir Nighteye affirming and reaffirming that he should try his best to live, that Yagi Toshinori had value outside of ‘All Might’. 

Sometimes, he’s still not sure, but at least this way he could dedicate himself not only to his young pupil, but also to other the young heroes ready to fill in his shoes.

Toshinori had originally thought he would dedicate himself solely to helping his young protege, but as Izuku grew into a more confident hero on his own right, he found himself at a loss.

Thankfully, his good friend, Detective Naomasa had mentioned that the police force needed a dedicated hero-police office liaison, and that was that. 

Toshinori had been working in his new role with the police and heroes alike for a year now. It was a tough shift from hero work to police work. Most heroes thought of police officers as their own personal helpers, and while All Might had never taken the police for granted, it had taken Tsukauchi years to beat that attitude out of him. 

It also didn’t hurt that both police officers and heroes alike were still in awe of his legacy as All Might.

As this was going on through his head, Izuku made his way down a long hallway, where he found a thick door, locked from the other side.

_Punch_

And now, it was open, with a convenient Izuku-fist-shaped hole in the locking mechanism.

The room he walked into was extremely dark, filled with large tanks and tables, bakers and Bunsen burners aplenty. It took Izuku a couple of minutes for his eyes to acclimate to the lack of light.

In a glass jar:  _Oh, that’s a heart._

_If that’s a heart, it doesn’t look anything like cartoons.  Or even anything like anatomy textbooks._

He walked up closer to the beaker. In it, was a greenish liquid that had begun seeping from it through a crack on the lower edge. The liquid began to pool under his feet, the smell of it sharp and thick in his nose. Just at eye level was something on a table. Izuku thought it may have been a tongue, but it was shriveled and curled up. 

He continued to look around, each glance revealing more and more  things he’d rather not have seen.

By the lab benches in the corner:  _And a set of lungs._

In the metal tray by the freezer: _And an eye._

_They’re. They’re so small._

With no warning, Izuku threw up. Violently.

“Look away my boy. Please. The camera on your suit will still take footage even if you’re not looking.” 

_I- I can’t._

“Take a breath in. And now one out. Just follow my voice. It’s okay my boy, everything’s going to be alright.”

\--

“Ok on my count,” Ryukyu said, all the heroes and sidekicks at the scene shifting their feet into a more stable stance for sprinting. 

_Thump_

Izuku could feel his heart beat heavy in his chest. To his right, he could barely hear Yaoyarozu taking a deep breath in and out, palms clasped together. 

“Three.” 

_Thump Thump_

The air was charged with something wet and heavy, the prelude to a thunderstorm maybe. Or maybe it was the feeling of Todoroki using both of his powers at once, his friend at Izuku’s left preparing for the worst.

“Two.” 

_We’re so close. We’re going to get you all out. I promise._

“One.”

** 

**Incident Report**

**Date:** 2 june 2018

**Officer Filling Report:** Officer Tamakawa Sansa, directly reporting to Supervisory Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa

**Personnel Involved**

**Hero(es)**

  1. Miruko

  2. Hawks 

  3. Ryukyu 




    **Sidekick(s):** N/A 

    **Intern(s):**

  1. Deku

  2. Creati

  3. Shouto




*Note: only two other heroes involved because Miruko ~~is a stubborn asshole that hates working in teams~~  believes that smaller groups of heroes are more efficient for targeted information-gathering operations, ~~never mind that she brought along a 17-year-old student instead of any real backup, granted this is Deku. He probably would have accidentally found the villains on the way to the grocery store, but that still doesn’t make it right Miruko!~~  a stance that has stayed the same over the course of her hero career.

No internal review necessary.

**Criminals Targeted** (see page 3)

Unknown Villain, Alias Songstress

  * Gender: Female

  * Age: late 20s-early 30s

  * Quirk: music-induced stupor

  * Known Crimes: larceny, extortion, animal smuggling, assault

  * Suspected Crimes: drug trafficking, abduction 




Unknown Villain, Alias Severance

  * Gender: Unknown

  * Age: mid 30s

  * Quirk: wind manipulation

  * Known Crimes: arson, burglary, vandalism,

  * Suspected Crimes: drug trafficking, abduction, assault




Unknown Villain, Alias Ringworm 

  * Gender: Male

  * Age: late 30s

  * Quirk: parasitic growth & implantation

  * Known Crimes: practicing medicine without a license, embezzlement

  * Suspected Crimes: drug trafficking, abduction, assault




**Other Criminals Encountered**

None; however with evidence at the scene analyzed by department forensic quirk specialists (see page 12), suspected involvement of the League of Villains.

Suspected Criminal: Atsuhiro Sako, Alias Mr. Compress  
Suspected Criminal: Jin Bubaigawara, Alias Twice 

**Emergency Personnel Involved**

    **Police Officer(s):** Drug Trafficking Division, Squad 2B (see page 2), Child Abduction Division, Squad 1F   
    **Paramedics:** Musutafu Emergency Services, Ambulance #18, #24 #27   
    **First Responder(s):** Musutafu Bomb Squad, Musutafu Volunteer Fire Department 

**Civilians Involved**

Twenty children ages 5-15 found in varying stages of health. Identities on five of the children confirmed corresponding to cases: 327ab, 65-2x, 79/23.a, 337sd, 776/16.b.

Guardians contacted and brought in for questioning, see pages 40-50.

See page 32 for on-site paramedic report, page 55 for physician physicals.

No civilian casualties reported.

**Quirk Use Necessary?: N**

No police officers used their quirks. Heroes Hawks and Ryukyu used their quirks to transport abducted children (See pages 30-50) from operation site. Hero Miruko used hers to apprehend the criminals (3 arrested, see pages 3-10, 2 escaped, see pages 12-14). 

Deku, Shouto, and Creati involved in an intern capacity. See page 2 for attached documentation licensing internships.

Paramedics from Ambulance #18 used quirks in a medical capacity. See page 30 for detailed explanation of quirk factors. 

**Estimated Costs: 3111000 yen**

Estimated Physical Damage

  * operation site was slated for demolition, however, damage to surrounding public infrastructure by economist estimate (see page 75 for more details) 3,000,000 yen

  * see page 77 for hero insurance estimates




Estimated Clean-Up

  * minimal, Hero Ryukyu and Intern Creati specialize in post-operation cleanup

  * see page 80 for Ryukyu and Creati compensation (estimate 111,000 yen)




**Firearms Necessary?: N**

No police firearm use required. Four sets of police-issue handcuffs required. Three cans of pepper spray, six gas masks requisitioned. See page 92 for inventory. 

**Loss of Life?: N**

**Professionalism Issues?: Y**

Personnel Involved

Officer Tomoya, Drug Trafficking Division, Squad 2B #21-s  
Intern Deku, Miruko Office, 3rd year U.A. Heroics Course 

Event Summary

  1. Primary Reporter: Intern Creati

  2. Secondary Reporter: Officer Yamazawa




Primary Report

“Deku was on the scene, comforting one of the children who had just been loaded onto an ambulance to be transported to Musutafu General Hospital. Officer Tomoya had been speaking to some of his fellow officers at the time and called the children ‘worthless quirkless brats’ in front of Deku. Deku told Officer Tomoya to be quiet in front of the children or to leave the scene. Officer Tomoya became agitated swung his right fist at Deku, who dodged and let the force of the missed punch carry the officer to the ground.” 

Secondary Report

“That kid just went batshit. Nitsuya was just minding his own business, talking to some of the kidnapped kids when Deku took offense to something minor and almost clobbered the guy. I know Nitsuya can be a bit of an asshole, but  I don’t think he deserved getting punched in the face.” 

Internal Review pending. 

**Other Logistical Issues: Y**

Musutafu Municipal Department Weather Management Team requested for urgent snow & ice removal from operation site and surrounding 300m radius.   
Musutafu Forensics Analysis team requested to analyze contraband confiscated at the scene (see page 6, see pages 10-12 of Drug Trafficking Division report)

**Addendum**

Tamakawa, rewrite the report. This time without the insults. And in more detail.

                                                -Det. Tsukauchi Naomasa

**

**Still Two Weeks Ago, July 6th, 8:35pm EST : Location - Still That Alley, Gotham City USA**

“You’re coming with me,” Batman said, eyes looking straight ahead, piercing, adding to the oppressive aura weighing on the situation.

Wisely, the three thugs said nothing. No one caught Batman unaware - well except for Harley Quinn that one time, and Poison Ivy that other time, and Talia al Ghul that third time - but if you didn’t have a fancy title, chances were Batman would pound you flat ten times out if ten, and he’d make you really regret the attempt afterwards.

Which is why all three of them - Mary, Sal, and Paul alike - turned around in terror at the kid’s interjection. He’d given them a beatdown the likes of which they hadn’t felt in years, not since they’d tried to make off with a couple of pieces from Catwoman’s stash and ended up naked in the sewers. Still, beatdown or not, no one deserved death-by-batstare.

“What are you going to do with them,” the kid had asked.

“Oi kid,” Sal muttered.

“It’s Deku,” the kid said. “Did I hit you too hard? I just introduced myself a couple minutes ago.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever,” Mary interjected “You do know that’s The Batman right?”

“That costume with the custom belt, complete with grappling hook and several bat-themed blades, the stylistic hood, the cape extending outwards to finish the motif. How could I not know?”

His eyes were sparkling in excitement.

“... you’re a real weirdo kid.”

“I get that a lot.”

“If you know that’s him, then why the sass,” Paul asked. “Just go along your merry way.”

The kid looked at Batman for a second before replying.

“But, even heroes aren’t above the law. According to analyses of his fights and matching them hospital records, Batman has a tendency to use excessive force even when a fight’s over and done. So I’d rather be here for your handoff to the police.”

“Excuse me.” Batman’s voice had gone even more flat if that was even possible, a low growl beginning to make its appearance.

“Oh no no no no,” Deku said, waving his hands around frantically, eyes wide and apologetic. “I meant no disrespect! I truly look up to you! You’re an amazing hero and an inspiration to so many quirkless people.” 

“But you think I can’t be trusted with these three tied-up petty criminals.”

“Ummmm,” Deku replied, the word stretched out, voice steadily pitching higher and higher, looking around as if for someone to help him.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll be taking them with me.”

“And I can’t let you. Not until you promise you won’t hurt them any further.”

Deku tensed, hands ready to raise, before suddenly taking a quick look to his right where Drew and his sister were standing.

He turned to them. “I’m sorry but could you please go somewhere safe?”

The two siblings looked hesitant.

“Don’t worry about me. Remember what I said?”

“Yeah,” the girl exclaimed, ponytails moving side to side with the vigorous force of her nods. “We’ll be safe, ‘cause you’re here.” 

“Exactly,” Deku said, eyes soft. He ruffled her hair. “So I can take care of myself. But I want to make sure you’re safe first.” 

“It’s ok. Batman’s kinda weird, but he’s really nice,” she said. “But we can leave if you really want us to I guess.” 

“Will you be safe getting home?” 

“Yeah,” Drew said, speaking up. “It’s only a couple of blocks away, and now that Batman’s here, everyone will be hiding for a little bit.”

He paused for a moment. “But. You just saved our lives. Are you sure you want us to go?” 

“Of course! I’ll be fine. We’ll just talk hero-to-hero. Just a misunderstanding I think,” Deku’s grin was bright enough to cause a headache.

Bruce almost rubbed his temples. 

_This kind of person, Of course he’d be that type. I’m so bad at dealing with the earnest ones like him._  

Drew looked a bit unconvinced, but began to leave with his sister. 

“Bye byeee! Thank you Mr. Deku. You should come visit. Mom makes the best macaroni and cheese.” 

The kid smiled. “I’ll try my best! It was nice meeting you too.” He continued to wave until the two were out of sight, then turned around to face Bruce.

“Who are you,” Batman said in his characteristic flat voice.

The kid tilted his head to the side. “Ummm? Is your hearing okay? Do you need to sit down for a little bit?”

“It’s not a difficult question.”  

“It’s just that I already called myself Deku a couple of times, so I was just wondering if you were paying attention, and since you’re The Batman it’s way more likely that you have a hearing problem than you not paying attention to your surroundings.” 

A beat.

“Deku isn’t your name. It’s a hero call-sign at best.” 

Deku snorted. It was annoyingly endearing. “Tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine?” he asked, voice rising a bit at the end. 

“Nice try,” Bruce’s tone indicating anything but. “You still haven’t answered me.”

“Oh yeah! Sorry. My name is Izuku,” the kid said, bowing down rapidly. “It’s nice to meet you Mr. Bat.”

_Mr. Bat…_ a pause.

“Look kid,” Bruce gave in the urge to rub at his temples. 

“I don’t know where you’re getting these ideas about me, but if you really want, you can come with me,” Bruce finally said, shocking even himself. He rarely compromised, but at least this way he’d be able to keep an eye on ‘Deku’.

“Come with you where exactly?”

“I’ll call the Commissionner Gordon to pick these three up. He’s clean.”

“And then?”

“You’re going to have to come in for questioning. I have some things to ask you,” Bruce finally said. “Will you cooperate?” 

“What questions?”

“It’s my duty to protect this city. I need to know what you’re doing here.”

Deku stiffened, subtly shifting his left leg back, leaning forwards on the balls of his feet, arms raised.

_That answers that. Is it too much to ask for the diplomatic approach to work more than once every two months?_

Bruce’s inner voice, which sounded, unsurprisingly like Alfred, never lost the chance to mock him. Bruce could almost here the “Well, Master Bruce, you were the one who decided to walk around beating criminals at the dead of night looking like that. I highly doubt diplomacy is what you’re going for.” 

_Well. Plan K then. Here’s hoping this time it’s not interrupted by some half-wit wizard animating Gotham’s gargoyle statues._

Bruce’s other inner voice, which unfortunately did not sound like Alfred took that moment to chime in. “Well B if you lose in a fight to a kid Damian’s age I’ll make sure Babs takes at least ten photos and use them to bribe Tim to finally sleep. Or eat something other than ten cups of coffee. Or… I could spread them around at the next family dinner. Maybe then Jason’ll show up. Whichever.” 

It said a lot about Bruce’s state of mind that the latter voice was more motivating.

He looked again at the kid. He was just about ready to charge in, eyes glancing around the alley, looking for vantage points.  

_Green lightning again._

Bruce sighed. He’d been doing an awful lot of that lately.

_Well. Guaranteed to be terrible, but can’t be any worse than a mind-controlled Superman, and somehow that seems to happen every other week._

Famous last words. 

** 

**Fast Forward Four Hours, July 7th 12:55am EST : Location - The Alley from Before, Gotham City USA**

When Bruce woke up he was still in costume, still in that same alley. The sun had retreated, the moon thin as the random almond slivers that sometimes found their way onto salads. 

_And get stuck in my teeth and somehow I’m forced to awkwardly stand around with almonds in my mouth trying to convince Gotham elite to donate to anything other than their illicit accounts in Panama._

_Note to self: bribe Oracle to get me access to those accounts_

He felt little pinpricks against his back, remnants of the barely-paved road mixed with gravel all digging into his back. None of them had penetrated his costume, but the feeling was hardly comfortable. 

Bruce stood up.

Well, attempted to stand up.

_Probably should’ve noticed my legs are tied together._

He then tried to remove the ropes with the spare batarang in his belt.

_Probably should’ve noticed my hands are tied together._

_Not even 1:00 am and I’m already 0 for 2. It’s just going to be that kind of day isn’t it._

Bruce thought for a moment before reaching for the bat-communicator hidden in a fake skin patch on the back of his neck. He had been tied up in enough strange positions over his career that the contortions needed for him to do so came as second-nature. 

_Dick would agree to help but would secretly laugh himself to death. Asking any of my other children would be... unwise. Barry wouldn’t be decent enough to even hide his laughter, and Diana already thinks all of us men are incompetent._  

_Last resort then._

He dialed a familiar number on the phone. 

_Of course it would come to this._

“Clark. There’s a matter in Gotham that requires your assistance.” 

**

**Now, July 20th, 10 minutes into interrogation : Location - Justice League Watchtower, Outer Space**

“This would go a whole lot quicker if you answered me,” Superman said, hands crossed, feet levitating inches above the ground in what Izuku supposed was an attempt to loom even more over him.

_You’re 25cm taller than me, what even are you doing?_  Izuku thought, inwardly screeching at his mental voice being so rude to Superman. Still, at this point, Izuku didn’t have enough energy to be nice. It was all he could do to keep from just collapsing.

_I’ve answered you once now. Not my fault you don’t like the answer. I haven’t slept in 30 hours, and still have this gunk… whatever it is, all over me. Would it be too much to ask for a shower before I get interrogated by one of the most powerful heroes of all time?_

Not for the first time, Izuku cursed his luck. 

Instead of looking at his face - Izuku liked his eyes very much unburned by Superman’s rumored laser beam vision thank you very much - he instead chose once more to thunk his head on the metal table.

“Maybe if I hit it hard enough I could permanently deform the table. But if I was really going to do that then it would be a better use of my energy to free my arms and legs. I’m assuming that the metal of this table is of similar strength as to the cuffs on my hands and the chains binding my ankles. For the next couple of minutes then I’ll work to subtly break the chains tying my legs to this chair.” 

“The best plan would be to distract Superman by saying something so outlandish that he goes outside the room to speak to the other heroes behind the two-way glass. In those moments, I’ll free my legs and break the linker holding my cuffs together. The hardest part will be escaping the room and heading outside. If I use the door, the chance of being able to escape would be minimal, but I looked and the ceiling of this room is pretty low, and doesn’t look very solid.” 

“So I’ll stand on the table, kick a hole in the ceiling, and escape upwards. The heroes will be able to chase after me quickly, but from what I remember, I still have one of his spare communicators hidden in my boots, and I snagged a bit of his hair and put it in the device before I left so the zeta beam? I think it was called?? should be able to recognize that as enough of a signal for me to leave this place. The chance of it all working to plan would be 0.5% but I’ve worked with worse odds.”

“Excuse me?” 

Oh shit, I said that all out loud. 

Superman’s hands slammed onto the solid table, and Izuku watched in moderate terror - a slight distinction from his near constant feeling of mild terror - as the table lifted up 90 degrees before slowly falling back down and denting the floor. 

He turned back to the angry hero, Superman’s eyes boring into Izuku’s face.

“I’ve asked you once now. Don’t make me repeat myself. Where is Batman?” 

**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this seems disjointed. I forced a little bit of it in the end to just get it out. If the switching time points is too confusing, don’t worry, the next couple of chapters should be much more linear. Thanks for the comments, bookmarks, and kudos.

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be a couple of chapters long. I initially thought it would be a short 2,000 word thing, but then… backstory happened. Also, this chapter took me a while to write, so updates may take a bit of time. Constructive criticism is okay but please be kind, it’s been years since I’ve written anything for fun.


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